GREENSBORO – Mustard Seed Community Health has received a $35,000 grant to track a group of 100 patients in east Greensboro and use the results to tackle lifestyle and environmental issues that contribute to some significant diseases.

The grant is from the CVS Health Foundation in partnership with the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics.

Mustard Seed is a nonprofit that offers medical care to residents of the Cottage Grove neighborhood. It is part of a general renovation effort by the Cottage Grove Initiative.

The clinic is focusing on four health issues that have been identified as the most significant in Cottage Grove. The four are asthma, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

The group of 100 patients will be treated during 2016 and results will be used to identify contributing lifestyle or environmental issues.

“The only thing better than a cure is prevention,” said Dr. Beth Mulberry, the clinic’s medical director.

An example of this type of coordinated care is the treatment of asthma. The results of asthma patients will be used to partner with the Greensboro Housing Coalition to remedy environmental problems in homes, eliminating some of the causes of asthma.

The CVS Health Foundation is dedicated to strengthening nonprofits that are committed to providing health care to the underserved. The mission of the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics is to ensure that the medically underserved have access to affordable quality health care.